Law, criminology & political science : Political science, public administration & international relations
http://hdl.handle.net/10993/30774
Proxy politics, economic protest, or traditionalist backlash: Croatia’s referendum on the constitutional definition of marriage
English
Glaurdic, Josip[University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Language and Literature, Humanities, Arts and Education (FLSHASE) > Identités, Politiques, Sociétés, Espaces (IPSE) >]
Vukovic, Vuk[University of Oxford > Department of Politics and International Relations]
[en] This article sheds light on the popular sources of opposition to the extension of gay rights in Eastern Europe by analysing the results of the 2013 Croatian referendum on the constitutional definition of marriage—the first referendum of this kind in Europe. Contrary to popular interpretations, our aggregate-level analysis reveals that the referendum results primarily reflected the pattern of support for the two principal electoral blocs, rather than communities’ traditionalist characteristics or grievances stemming from economic adversity. The article thereby stresses the importance of embedding the issue of contention over gay rights in Eastern Europe into the context of conventional political competition.